Coil-winding machine



the filament wire which opposes its movement and fromthence, it may be wound upon the mandrel.

rlhe material employed for the filament,

-. generally tungsten wire, is extremely hard and in order to lengthen the useful life ,of the compression member, it has been found desirable to use ak bearing surface composed of a sapphire or other jewel, which possesses rthe property'of hardness to a greater degree than tungsten wire. Since the compression member is movable with the winding head, the jewel is provided with means for preventing the displacement of the .filament by centrifugal force acting thereon.

The invention also contemplates suitable guide-rollers for frictionally engaging the wound filament, which members may be convenientlyiremoved from their operative positions. Means are also employed comprising a suitable guide-member to prevent a movement of the mandrel from a given path during the winding operation. This guidemember in conjunction with the guiderollers, prevents vibration and-the non-uniform winding as heretofore found prevalent.

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the annexed drawings `in-which Figure 1 is a plan View of a machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side-elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the Winding head showing the tensioning ldevice applied thereto;

Fig. 4 is a top viewof the tensioning device shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view ofthe machine `partly in section and shows guide- Vrollers in their operative relation to the winding head;

Fig. 6 isa planview ofthe guide-rollers shown in Fig. 5 and also shows a portion of lthe winding head;

Fig. 7 4is an enlarged detail, partly in section, of compression members for gripping Fig. 8 shows an enlarged portion Vof a filament guide having the {ilament disposed in a groove therein, and

Fig. 9 shows an end view of the guide shown in Fig. 8.

A machine of the type towhich the present invention maybe applied may comprise a suitable base 10 upon which are mounted aplurality ofmachine elements to perform a winding operation. A machine of this type Vis known in the art and it is believed that a brief description thereof will suflice to set forth its general principlesy and the present'invention willA be fully described in connection therewith.

lhe winding machine may comprise a winding head 11 which carries a spool 12 offfilament ,Wire 131 upon its axis. rlhe head 11 is mounted on a suitable hollow-Spindle 14, journaled in a-bearing 15, which bearing is -suitablysecured to the base 10. An end of the hollow-spindle opposite to that at which the head is secured, is provided with a driving pulley 16. The pulley lmay vbe connected to any suitable source of power, as for instance-a motor (not shown).

Mandrcl wire 17 is led from a spool 18 and over a multiple groove sheave 20, supported on a vertical shaft 21 rotatably supportedvin the base 10.` The mandrel 17 then passes over a -suitable pulley 19 and thence through the hollow-spindle 14 and may be associated by one or vmore turns with the sheave 20, from which it passes to a drum 24. Interposed between the sheave 20 and the windinghead 1,2, is positioned an additional guide, designated as a whole, bythe numeral 22.

For the purpose of drawing the mandrel through the spindle, the sheave 20 is rotated by means-of its geared connection with the driving-pulleys 16. comprise a vworm 25 and a worm wheel 26, secured to lthe hollow spindle 14, the worm "being secured to a shaft 27 connected by a train of gears-.28 to a shaft 31 having a worm 32 secured thereto and in vmesh with a worm wheel 33 suitably secured-to the vertical shaft 21 upon which, the sheave 20 is `fastened.

The filament wire 13 may be led over guide membersand a tensioning device, to be later described, and secured to the mandrel 17V at apointzadjacent an'vend ofthe hollowspindle 14. .Ai rotation ofthe head will thus cause a helical winding of the filament about the mandrel and the number of turns of wire per inch upon the mandrel is controlled by the rate of movement of the man-v drelthrough its path of travel.

The wire-wound mandrel is carried about Lthe -sheave 2O and thence to the drum 24 as above described. `The drum 24 is rotated at a given rate of Vspeed in order to maintain the mandrel tight about the sheave 20. The rotation of the drum 24 may be effected by providinga shaft 35 upon which the drum is mounted with a sheave 36. The shcave 36 may be connected by a belt 37 to a sheave 38 fastenedgto-the shaft 3l, through which motion istranslatedto the sheave 20.

j `Suitably positioned in the path of the Such connection may with a shoulder 79 adapted t'o eng-age with the -cap 42to prevent outward movement. Movement in the opposite directionmay .be opposed by a suitable shoulder Within the spindle 14., The longitudinal passage-way in the guide member 78 is of a diameter suiiicient to provide a passage for the man.` drel and prevent lateral movement thereof, thus maintaining the mandrel upon the axial line of the winding head.

Operating in conjunction with the guide 7 8, is the aforementioned guide 22 composed of a pair of guide sheaves 81 and 82 maintained in relatively close relation at opposite sides of the path of movement of the mand-rel. The sheaves are mounted upon a universal carrier which may comprise aslidable plate 8l having a slot 85 through which atap-bolt S6 may pass to secure the plate in position, upon a platform 87 secured to the base 10. The carrier may include a yoke 88 having a shank 89 adapted to enter a transverse aperture 99 disposed in a raised portion 91 of the plate 811. The forkedend of the yoke may provide a bearing for a stud 92 secured-to a shaft 93 and adapted to be nn'iintained in any given angular position by nuts 94C. c

For the purpose of enablingfan operator to adjust guide sheaves 81 and 82 to a given position'7 means are provided in the-form of a lugv 95 integral with the stud 92, and a projection 9G may be provided integral withy the yoke 8S. A set screw 97 may be provided in the projection 96 and adapted to engage with the lug 95 to limit the movement of the stud at which position it may be secured by the nuts 94.

As described, the mechanism provided, allows for the lateral and oscillatory movement lof the guide-sheaves 81 and 82;. A rotary movement of the sheaves about a common axis is provided. For this purpose, the sheaves are mounted in bearings-98 and 99 supported on a carrier 100. The carrier is provided with a split sleeve 101 adapted to be disposed over the stud 92 andl secured in a given position by a manipulation of va thumb screw 102. It will thus be evident that the sheaves 81 and 82 may be so disposed that the wound mandrel may pass therebetween without any appreciable amount of tension or frictional engagement thereon. However, by rotating the sheaves about a vertical axis passing through the path of movement of the wound mandrel, a variation in the degree of frictional engagement between the sheaves and wound mandrel may berhad. By thus confining; ,the mandrel between the two rollers, vibration of the mandrel is greatly reduced.

The winding of spaced coiled` lament requires that the filament wire be fed to the mandrel at a predetermined angle. It will be obvious, that although the wire maybe 'Lee-.Sasse 'fed to the mandrel. ,through 'a rectilinear path, it` will" bediverted from such pathv at the point of applicationrr to. the-mandrel.,

Vhena wire. isf-wound upona,V mandrel, the degree of contact between the mandrel and the wire depends largelyy upon theresiliencyof the, wire. It will be understood thatfa soft` or malleable wire may moreint-imately be disposed in a` helix aboutaman.- drel than will avvire having amore resilient property.

The wire, employed for use as alamentis relatively resilient, therefore, during the winding;r operation, the wire takesaslight bend. as. it. is applied to. the4 mandrel.y Owing to the extremeaccuracy. necessary in the production of a heli-,cal filament, it is required. that all the coilsbe spaced. anni.- form distance and the pitch remain4 uni.- form.

By reason of the: slight inaccuracy inthe manufacturev offwire, it is found that some portions of the wire are less .resilient than others. Heretofore, ,thisy variation .resulted in a change inV the pitch of the coils Wound 1on the mandrel. This tmdesirable result is believed to have been duel to` the. change in the degree of hardness of the Wire. Thusif a wire of a given resiliency Waszused. andf the tensioning device adjusted accordingly, the wire would bewound upon., the mandrel and thecoils properly spaced, until avv variation/in the degree of hardness occurred `,throughout a given portion of the wire, whereupon a section ofcoil's would be produced having a different- .pitclr from that desired. Such variation is believed to haver been. due to .either the opposition of the Wire ata portion of its length, because tifexcessive 'hardness, to follow the same path. during its application to the. mand-rel. (Dn. theother hand-,1l if a relatively soft sectioni of Wireexisted, achangein the-pitchof? the coil would also occur by reason of the-reduced' opposition o-f the Wifi-efvv-hiohl would obviously' follow a; different path from that of aharder or more resilientfportionfof the Wire.I

Thek present invention provides, means for fovercomingy the difficulty above setI forth. Such means may comprise.n.g-uide,l member adapted, to engage thewire at` the point 0f its application to the mandrel and. thus avoid the detrimentalvariation in the.. rectilinear path of the. filament Wire 13: to the mandrel 17.

As illustrated in Figs.7 8Y and 9, theguigde 78 is provided witha. groove 11,03. to-.fortma shoulder 10.4. for engagement with the-filanfient wireV to positively carry it about. the

mandrel and avoid any diversion, of.. the,wire froma rectilinear path during, its applicationtof the mandrel thereby producing lcoils of aa uniformu pitch and spaced,equally'.v

Itwillbe noted thatthe- Wirei's led., `from the guidesheavel 459 to .the ,mandrelr atan lil() angle. It has'- been `found that accurate` winding is obtained by causing the filament to travel to the mandrel through an angular path which is substantially the same las the angle or pitch of the woundwire.

The machine may be prepared for operan tion by passing an end of the mandrel wire through the hollow spindle` around vthe sheave 20 and thence over the drum 24 to which van v end is secured for winding. y A spool of filament wire may then be positioned on the hollow-'spindle 14. The spool being free to rotate, the filament wire may be drawn therefrom and threaded over the guide sheaves 53, around the guide sheave between the friction head 57 and the bearing block 59 thence around pulley 51 andover lguide sheave 49. An 'end of the wire. may in starting, be suitably secured tothe mandrel wire until several turns of the wire have'been made thereon.

The machine may then be started and the ,winding head 11 will be rotated and the mandrel moved through its rectilinear path. As the mandrel moves, the filament wire will be wound thereon and gradually accumulated in the roll upon thedrum 24. It will be apparent, that the coil may be continuously wound upon a `mandrel and the length of the wound mandrel need only be limited by the length of the tungsten wire on the spool.

The operations of the' machine are automatic and the present invention providestor the more practical automatic production of a coil since by reason of lthe improved ten.

sioning device,v an accurate control of the winding may be had. Accuracy is an im-v portant factor in the production of the pres,-

ent type of filamenti and the application of the filament wire to the mandrel must be uniform so that when the mandrel Vis sev'- ered into sections. each section will have a uniform length of filament wire therein, inv order that the resistance may be accurately The means provided for producing a tensional stress between the mandrel and a tene sioningdevice disposed between the mandrel and the sp-ool servesto release all strains from the spool and give the wirefa uniform tension during the winding operation.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it

' is obvious that modifications may beL made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A coil winding machine comprising a winding head, a mandrel movable upon the axial line of said head, a spool for filament wire supported upon said head, means associated with said head for guiding filament wire from said spool to said mandrel, a ten sion member disposed in the path of' travel of the kwire between said spool and said mandrel to produce a tension upon ya section of the filament wire adjacent the mandrel,

- means tor rotating the head and means forl maintaining the wire in engagement with said tension member in opposition to the ceiitrif'ugal force during the rotation of said head. l

2. A' coil winding1 machine ,comprising mandrel` a spool for filament wire rotatable about said mandrel, means for winding said filanient upon the mandrel, means for normallv opposing the rotary movement of said spool'dnring` a given period Vduring the unwinding of the'filament said means operating under centrifugal force to remove itS. opposition to the movement ot said spool.

3. A coil winding machine comprisinga mandrel, a spool for filament wirerotatable about said mandrel, means for windingithe filament upon the mandrel, a tension member for producing a tensional stress` in a portion of the length of the wire between said spool and mandrel, a rictional member, means for applying said friction member to retard the rotation of said spool 'during the initial movement thereof and ymeans for subsequently removing said friction member to permit a free movement of the spool.

4. A coil winding machine comprising a winding head. a traveling mandrel movable upon the axial line of' said head, a spool for filament: wire supported on said head. means for normally maintaining the spool' from relative rotaiy movei'neiit, means for rotat-ingl said head, said first-mentioned means operatingupon a rotary movement ofsaid head to permit a rotary movement of said spool. Y I.

5. A coil Winding machine comprising a hollow spindle,'a windinghead mounted on said hollow-spindle, means for' rotating said spindle, aspool for filament wire mounted on said spindle adjacent said head, a tubular guide member positioned in a projecting end of said spindle, a guide passage insaid member, a mandrel movable `through ysaidj spindle and through saidr guide passage,

means for guiding the filament wire to -said mandrel to efii'ect a winding thereon during rotation of said head. guide members dis? posed in the path of movement of said wound mandrel, said members operating in conjunction with said tubular guide member to maintain the mandrel in aV given rectilinear path during the winding operation.

6. A coil winding machine comprising a hollow spindle, a winding head mountedon said hollow-spindle. means for rotating said spindle, a. spool for filament wiremounted on said spindle adjacent said head, a tubular guide member positioned in a projecting end of said spindle, a guide passage in said 'ing' said members from the member, a mandrel movable through said spindle and through said guide passage, means for guiding the filament Wire to said mandrel to effect a Winding thereon duringr rotation of said head, guide members di-sposed in the path of movement of said Wound'mandrel. said members operating` in conjunction with said tubular guide member to maintain the mandrel in a `.Qiven rectilinear path duringl the Windingl operation and means for adjustingsaid guide members to vary the degree of their frictional e'- gagement With said Wound mandrel.

7. A coil Winding' machine comprising a hollow spindle, Windingr head mounted on said hollow-spindle. means for rotatingsaid spindle, a spool for filament Wire mounted on said spindle adjacent; said head. a tubular guide member positioned in a proj ectineend of said spindle, a `-Quide passage in said inem- 'ber, a mandrel movable through said spindle and through said pguide passage. means for guiding the filament Wire to said mandrel to effect a Windingr thereon duringrotation of said head, guide members disposed in the path of movement of said Wound mandrel. said members operating in conjunction with said tubular guide member to maintain the mandrel in a `:given rectilinear path during; the Winding operation and means for movpath of movement of said mandrel.

8. A coil Winding* machine comprisine` a hollow spindle, a Winding head mounted on said hollow-spindle. means for rotatingr said spindle, a spool for filament ivire mounted on said spindle adjacent said head. a. vtubular guide member positioned in a projecting end of said spindle. a `guide passage in said member, a mandrel movable through lsaid spindle and through said guide passa-ee.

means for `guiding; the filament Wire to said mandrel to effect a Winding; thereon during rotation of said head. guide members disposed in the path of movement of said Wound mandrel. said members operating' in conjunction with said tubular 1duide member to maintain the mandrel in a given rectilinear path duringthe windingoperation, means for removing lsai d members from the 'path of said mandrel and means for positively, repositioning lthe members in their former lrelation to the mandrel.

9. A coil Winding `machine comprising' a Winding head, a mandrel movable upon the axial line of said head, a spool 'for filament rotatably mounted upon said head. a. tensioning member carried on said head, vguide rollers for guiding the lament to said tensioning` member, means for rotating said head and Winding the filament on said mandrel,

a guide sleevev positioned on the axial line. of said head for the passage of said man,-`

drel therethrough, means for engaging' the Wound mandrel, said means operating' in conjunction with said sleeve to maintain the mandrel in a. given path.

l0. A coil Winding machine comprising a traveling mandrel, i spool for filament Wire as to effect a movement of the Wire toward the mandrel in the direction of the pitch ot the coil, and means for compressiifellv engaging the filament Wire to retard its movement prior'to the application thereof to said mandrel.

l1. A coil Winding' machine con'iprisingfy aV hollow spindle, a Winding head mounted on said spindle, means for rotating said spindle. a spool for filament Wire mounted on said spindle adjacent to said head. a rtubular guide-member positioned in and extendingr from a projectingendv of said' spindle. a guide passage in said tubular guide-member. a mandrel movable through said spindle and through said guide passage a. groove in said tubular guide-member for directing the lwire into intimate engagement with the mandrel at its point of application thereto during the Winding operation. i

In testimony whereof. ive have hereunto subscribed our names this 23rd day ot July 1923.

JOHN JOSEPH HIGGNS. MILTON ARMSTRONG HOYT. 

